Beyoncé is to re-record a lyric in one of the tracks in her new album Renaissance, following criticism for it containing an ableist slur.
The track in question, ‘Heated’, which was co-written by Drake and other writers, contained a term that many campaigners deem offensive, especially to those who suffer from cerebral palsy.
Yet following the criticism, Beyoncé’s team have revealed the word will now be “replaced in the lyrics”, and that it was “not used intentionally in a harmful way”. The word can have slightly different connotations in the U.S., the singer’s publicist further told the BBC.
In June, Lizzo had come under fire for using the exact same slur in her track ‘Grrrls’ before quickly removing and changing it. After making the amendment, Lizzo stated: “Let me make one thing clear: I never want to promote derogatory language. As a fat black woman in America, I’ve had many hurtful words used against me so I overstand (sic) the power words can have (whether intentionally or in my case, unintentionally).
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“As an influential artist I’m dedicated to being part of the change I’ve been waiting to see in the world.”
Lizzo was widely praised for taking action and changing the lyric as well as publicly acknowledging her role and responsibility over it.
After the outcry from Lizzo using the word “sp@z”, I can’t believe that nobody in Beyoncé’s team was aware of how hurtful the word is to many within the disabled community. Surely one of ‘Heated’s 11 writers and 10 producers must have known?
— Callum Stephen (He/Him) (@AutisticCallum_) August 1, 2022
People flooded to social media to air out their anger towards Beyoncé’s use of the word and are calling for her to change it as Lizzo changed her lyric. Many have also noted cultural differences might be the reason the word made it into ‘Heated’ which has a total of 11 writers.
So y’all never learned of homonyms in school?! “Spazz” has a whole other meaning in the black community and is never meant with any negative connotations. Just because it’s a slur to y’all doesn’t mean Beyoncé was using it as a slur! Same way brits call cigarettes “f@gs” 🙄🙄🙄 https://t.co/QcSC2cdHME
— 𝐾𝑎𝑦𝑙𝑎🧸|| 𝑆𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑂𝑛𝑛𝑎 𝑂𝑝𝑝🔥 (@ohmybardixx) August 1, 2022
Writing for The Guardian, Hannah Diviney had noted that, “Beyoncé’s commitment to storytelling musically and visually is unparalleled, as is her power to have the world paying attention to the narratives, struggles and nuanced lived experience of being a black woman – a world I can only ever understand as an ally, and have no desire to overshadow.
“But that doesn’t excuse her use of ableist language – language that gets used and ignored all too often.”
Yet now the amendment has been announced. And Beyoncé, her team and her fans will be hoping it doesn’t take anymore untoward attention from an otherwise widely praised album.
In our 4-star review, Matt Mills calls it “Beyoncé’s apotheosis” and notes that Queen Bey is “relishing in admiration of her own skin, and wants you to do the same.”
